San Francisco: Coast Guard to search overnight for 14-year-old missing in ocean

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Coast Guard will continue searching overnight for a 14-year-old reported missing off the coast of Ocean Beach on Wednesday evening, after his father was pulled from the water in distress and taken to a hospital.

Two boys and a man in need of help were reported in the water off the end of Lincoln Way shortly before 4 p.m., San Francisco fire officials said. Tony Barbero, 17, told ABC7 News that he was surfing nearby when he heard calls for help. He said he believed the boys were pulled into the water by a rogue wave and the man rushed to their rescue.

Barbero said he first put a boy on his surfboard and got him to where it was shallow enough for him to walk to shore. He then looked back and saw the adult "just bobbing up and down in the water."

He asked the boy if the man could swim, and upon hearing he could not rushed back into the water, Barbero said.

"I dragged him in by the arm and I was really concerned because I thought he was dead out there," he told ABC7.

Rescue crews performed CPR on the man before he was put in an ambulance and taken to the hospital. His condition was unknown late Wednesday, although officials said he had regained a pulse by the time he was taken off the beach.

A Coast Guard boat and helicopter were summoned to help with the ongoing search for the teenager shortly after authorities were called. While the cloud ceiling got too low for the helicopter to be of assistance after dark, the boat was to remain in search mode through the night, Coast Guard Lt. Mark Leahey said.

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Leahey said he did not have an estimated time that the boy could survive in the ocean water, which was about 57 degrees Wednesday, according to the National Oceanographic Data Center.

"We have run a survivability model which dictates how long we search," Leahey said. "Obviously the water is very cold, but we will search through the night. It is absolutely still considered a rescue."